The Power of Camp

Camp is outstanding at teaching the values of self-reliance and resourcefulness. It facilitates relationships with a focus on collaboration and communication, it is full of opportunities for creativity as well as problem-solving and critical thinking, and it invites exploration, play and adventure. These are most commonly referred to as 21st Century Skills and educational experts believe they are essential for future success.  At Mountain Camp we believe that camp is critical to the education and development of children, and it is the best possible “classroom” for learning these skills.

Our well-trained counselors and leadership staff foster camper engagement, a sense of well-being, and social and emotional skill development. The experience at Mountain Camp is enhanced by a strong climate of care, a structure and schedule that supports camper’s physical and emotional needs, and activities and experiences that are purposefully designed to provide campers with opportunities to practice these skills.

In 2015 Mountain Camp partnered with the Stanford University Graduate School of Education and Challenge Success to conduct a 4-year study to measure the impact of the camp experience on child development. Our goal was to identify and improve how we provide children the opportunities to practice and the life skills we know will help children be successful. We are committed to ensuring that the best practices are in place so all campers have the opportunity for social and emotional learning at camp.

Curiosity, enthusiasm, self-control, gratitude, perseverance, optimism and social intelligence are just some of the important character traits we help develop in our campers.

Please take a few minutes to watch this video to learn more about the study we conducted and why camp is such a powerful experience for children.